An old Ethereum (ETH) wallet that hadn’t been touched in nearly a decade just came back to life — and it’s holding millions. The address, created during Ethereum’s pre-mine phase, originally received 2,153 ETH back in 2015 when that amount was worth around $667. On May 24, 2025, it moved for the first time in 9.8 years, now holding ETH worth over $5.43 million as reported by Whale Alert.
The address “0x10df68” made its first transaction in almost a decade, sending 30 ETH worth about $75,970 to another wallet: “0x967e37.” Just a few hours later, that second wallet began routing the funds through Tornado Cash, a crypto mixing service often used to break the link between wallets and obscure the transaction history.
On-chain data shows that after receiving the funds, the second wallet quickly started making multiple transactions — mostly 1 ETH at a time — directly to Tornado Cash. Within hours, the full 30 ETH had been split up and moved through the mixer.
💤 A dormant pre-mine address containing 2,153 #ETH (5,433,793 USD) has just been activated after 9.8 years (worth 667 USD in 2015)!
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) May 24, 2025
The original wallet still holds over 2,100 ETH, valued at more than $5.2 million. Its reactivation after almost 10 years, combined with the immediate use of a privacy tool, has definitely drawn attention from those tracking long-dormant wallets and early Ethereum holders.
There is now only around 2.78 ETH, worth just under $7,000, in the second wallet. Given Tornado Cash’s involvement and no additional large transfers yet, it’s unclear what the long-term plan is for the remaining funds.
Vitalik Buterin?
It’s possible that this could be Vitalik Buterin. The address dates back to Ethereum’s Genesis phase, limiting the possible owners to a small group of early insiders. Additionally, the immediate move to Tornado Cash stands out — a tool that Vitalik Buterin has supported and admitted to using for personal privacy. While there’s no hard proof it’s him, the pattern fits just enough to raise the question.
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